The group blog of twelve quiltmakers and textile artists scattered around the world in 8 countries and across four continents. Our aim is to create a small quilt every three months.
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Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Jubilation - what jubilation?

Oh dear, is this an idea or project that should never have seen the light of day? Using the medium technique has meant I have the images transfered to the fabric - but what a mess and dismal result. The toner is not completely fixed inspite of the paper being so dry it is crispy and curled (left overnight in the airing cupboard where the hot water tank is - lovely and warm and dry). This means that in rubbing away the paper some of the image is taken off. The paper was very wet and soggy. It's looking a bit like a mural discovered at Herculaneum!

It is also interesting to see the transparency happening. As this is a learning curve (steep one - why did I think I could just do this on the final piece?!!!) I am finding this fascinating and I'm sure if I carried on with this technique it would be very interesting to play with this aspect. As it is I am ticking the box - tried it, done this, bought the T-shirt - now for something new...

The trouble is I still have to make a Jubilation piece. I am going to take this piece a step further and either mess it up completely and rescue it. At the moment it is a 'dog' and needs CPR.

What to do? Quilt and then gently roller paint over? Use it as the background and work over the top ignoring what's there - very like an old master painting over a painting)? screen print over? Stamp and stencil? Just add more images?

12 comments:

I am sure you could give it to me. by the glimpses you have shown, I think I could gently breathe life into it. Call it a collaboration. :)

But seriously. Here is a way to do your transparency thing and reduce the drying time. It also makes sure the medium used to transfer is seated more deeply into the cloth.

I have done this with PVA glue, with image transfer stuff that is like thickened PVA glue, and with ModPodge, which smells a bit.

1 Paint the medium onto the photocopied image. It must be a photo copy or a printout from a laser printer. ink jet won't do.2 turn the image over onto your fabric. Smooth the paper onto the fabric - burnish with the back of a spoon or something.3 Use a med hot iron to press the paper onto the fabric. the heat of the iron will cure the transfer medium. MAke sure you move the iron around so all areas are cured, and the holes in the iron aren't causing uncured patches.4 Check edges to see if it is all adhered. sometimes you can see from the back if it all is, because the medium has gone into the fibres of the fabric.5 give it a chance to cool and then use slightly more than damp but not dripping cloths to get the back of the image wet. Use a pouncing motion to get the paper damp.6 do the intense scrubbing bit. To save your finger tips, use rubber gloves or a slightly damp cloth.7 It should have worked! Don't get too intense rubbing in spots because you will get the distressed sections you got for this example.if you think you have all the backing off, you can let it dry to see if one or two places want a bit more rubbing. If you are careful to 'not' rub all the paper off, you will have a thin film of paper which gives a more ghostly look to the image.Hope this helps and hope blogger doesn't mind a whole tutorial in the comments!HAVE FUN!Sandy in Bracknell

Thanks for the tips but basically that is what I did. I tried both painting the image and painting the fabric using matte gel medium and the results were roughly the same. I used a hard brayer to smooth and press the paper onto the fabric.

What I didn't to was use the iron to dry out the medium.

Oh well, it has been an interesting journey and I was pleased to see that adding medium on top of the previous transferred image didn't affect it at all. Made it easy to build up the layers.

Hilary

PS I just noticed we have a visitor from way inside Russia - hi there, you're very welcome! Hilary

I love that antique, distressed effect. I've done a bit of this kind of transfer, and haven't ever used an iron, but perhaps it is helpful. As I understand it, the ink from the photocopy is being absorbed by the acrylic medium, which in turn is being absorbed by the cloth. Painters who use acrylic paint on canvas don't heat-set their work, right? Now that I think of it, I had a thin layer of acrylic paint already applied to the cotton background before attempting the transfer. When I took a collage class, this kind of transfer was done to pre-gessoed canvas. Whatever works! We await with bated breath!

I have applied the transfer twice to the same spot if this is any help. I like some of the transparencies that you are acheiving . I must admit to putting the whole thing to dry in an oven that has been very lightly heated and then turned off and opened for a while just to get the dryest possible start before starting the wet process of removing the paper.But as Heather says in theory it is done without the heat. Onward and upward!

You have a lovely start there Hilary. I'm sure you are going to produce something wonderful. and I have a feeling that once you get the methodology right you may become addicted. And thanks to Sandy for all your instructions.

Heather, I think it may help to have gel medium on the cloth and the photo. I guess it depends on the absorption and weave of the cloth to a certain extent. It may also be that the piece of heavy weight calico I have used wasn't washed and the dressing may have prevented the gel soaking into the cloth. Ironing might not be necessary but may speed up the process. Michele, I did think about applying another copy over the top but couldn't see a way to make sure the two were lined up properly.In actual fact I like the distressed look. Perhaps it was the surprise of it turning out like this that caught me on the wrong foot and disappointed. I now wonder if the original vision was wrong and this is better...

Your mis-Jubilation has almost turned into an on-line workshop - fantastic! The weight, the coarseness, the 'unwashed' calico would all have had an impact on the result - but as you say the unexpected sometimes grows on you. Next pic showing the progress please!